In pictures: Canada wildfires shroud New York in apocalyptic smog

Author: Editors Desk Source: France 24

June 8, 2023 at 06:17

A person wears a face mask as smoke from wildfires in Canada cause hazy conditions in New York City on June 7, 2023. © Angela Weiss, AFP

Smoke from Canadian wildfires shrouded New York in a record-breaking apocalyptic smog Wednesday as cities along the US East Coast issued air pollution warnings and thousands evacuated their homes in Canada.

The devastating fires have displaced more than 20,000 people and scorched about 3.8 million hectares of land in Canada, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described this wildfire season as the country's worst ever.

More than 100 million people across the northeastern United States, and extending west to Chicago and south to Atlanta, were under pollution warnings after the smoke drifted hundreds of miles from Canada, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said.

Due to hundreds of uncontrolled wildfires across Canada, New York City looks like a post-apocalyptic hellscape.

If you want a prelude of what the world is going to look like if we do not address man-made climate change — this is it. #ActOnClimate pic.twitter.com/cimHQkDwkZ
— Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema) June 7, 2023

The Lincoln Memorial is seen as smoke from wildfires in Canada cause hazy conditions in Washington, DC, on June 7, 2023. © Andrew Caballero Reynold, AFP

The thick pollution cast an eerie, yellowish glow over the Big Apple's famous skyscrapers, delayed flights and forced the postponement of sporting events.

Canada is on track to face its worst-ever year of wildfire destruction. Blazes are burning in nearly all Canadian provinces and territories, and federal government officials said their modeling shows increased wildfire risk in most of Canada through August https://t.co/QU7KK6eXkm pic.twitter.com/QF5AAOCb3H
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 6, 2023

On Wednesday, New York City recorded the worst air pollution of any major city in the world. What once seemed unprecedented is becoming familiar, @carolynkor writes: https://t.co/IP6V86I3ZH pic.twitter.com/ffxu0isfG9
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) June 8, 2023